About Me

I was a reporter and columnist for 40 years for a chain of newspapers in the suburbs of Chicago. I'm a military veteran having served in the United States Army Combat Engineers (Cpl. E-4) and a Korean War veteran with an Honorable Discharge from the Armed Forces of the United States of America

Saturday, October 30, 2010

The Pentagon does not have a clear cut way of accountig for all the spending that is going on in Aghaninstan. Much of it has to do with hired private contractors. Read story for details.READ STORY HERE:http://tiny.cc/lj94f

This is dangerous work and in this video you see a team of DEA agents using a U.S. Army helicopter to fly into a remote area of Afghanistan on a drug raid.TURN UP YOUR SOUNDWATCH VIDEO HERE:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSUGY8qV6Jc

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

It is getting harder and harder to get fresh video from Afghanistan because most news outlets no longer cover the war and the Defense Department is reluctant to release any new videos, but here is the latest one we were able to obtain.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Video is produced by Al Jazeera news and spells out a very troubling aspect of the battle for Afghanistan. Namely, are US forces winning the war but losing the hearts and minds of the Afghan people?This video breaks it all down.TURN UP YOUR SOUNDWATCH VIDEO HERE:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRxf9-Mgu8E

Among the major findings covered in the Wikileaks Iraq documents but not reported inmainstream media in the United States are the following:The US army’s cover-up of Iraqi state sanctioned torture: Although one of the stated aims of the Iraq War was to close down Saddam Hussein’s torture chambers, the Wikileaks documents show many cases of torture and abuse of Iraqi prisoners by Iraqi police and soldiers.In addition, the documents reveal the U.S. knew about the state sanctioned torture but ordered its troops not to intervene.The U.S. kept a death count throughout the War despite repeated denials.The killing of hundreds of civilians at US manned checkpoints: According to the documents, many Iraqi civilians were killed during the war at checkpoints in contrast to the official US position.New information on Blackwater civilian killings: The secret US files reveal new cases of Blackwater (a company now known as XE) opening fire on civilians. No charges were ever brought.US Army reports about Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki and allegations of his association with death squads.Iran’s secret involvement in financing Shia militias: The files detail Iran’s secret war in Iraq and discuss Iran’s Revolutionary Guard acting as an alleged supplier of arms to Shia insurgents.For more details go here: http://english.aljazeera.net/

Saturday, October 23, 2010

This column by Bob Herbert of the New York Times, "The Way We Treat Our Troops," sums up my feelings exactly on how most people I know feel about the war and about the young Americans serving in the military.Frankly, they don't give a damn.Oh, they would care a helluva lot if there little Johnny or little Mary were to be drafted and sent off to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban.But you aren't going to see that happen because too many members of Congress have children and grandchildren that are military age and they want somebody else to fight the wars they vote to start with Iraq, Afghanistan and possibly next Iran, Pakistan or North Korea.Bob Herbert hit the nail on the head with this column:YOU CAN READ IT HERE:http://tiny.cc/ee9yk

CLICK ON LINK TO READ BOB HERBERT'S COLUMN ON "THE WAY WE TREAT OUR TROOPS"

This video from BraveNew films and "Rethink Afghanistan" shows graphic images of young Afghan children who were either wounded or killed by American troops.What is the point of killing so many innocent Afghan children, elderly and citizens?TURN UP YOUR SOUNDWATCH VIDEO HERE:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krHV9iT20zw

The link below gives you a running tally of the cost of both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. You can also find out what your community is paying for the wars and what could have been bought with the money spent on both wars.CLICK ON THIS LINK:

This footage comes from the front lines of the war in Afghanistan and is another case of "news" the mainstream media in the United States feels is not important.TURN UP YOUR VOLUMEWATCH VIDEO HERE:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrvNwsC-Iss

Friday, October 8, 2010

The difference between life and death for a wounded soldier in Afghanistan is just a matter of seconds and this video shows how Medevac crews work feverishly to extract wounded from the battlefield in choppers.TURN UP YOUR SOUNDWATCH VIDEO HERE:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy0uKAdhJIQ

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

The American public is being shielded from the truth about the Afghanistan war by the mainstream media.The sometimes gory video is set to the music of the Dave Matthews Band singing "Cry Freedom"TURN UP YOUR SOUNDWATCH VIDEO HERE"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cYa8u25Ax8

Instead of 24/7 news about the upcoming election, you would think the mainstream media could spend a few minutes playing an anti-war musical video like this one.TURN UP YOUR SOUNDWATCH VIDEO HERE:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF2BrM_mCsk

It is hard to believe how little coverage the war in Afghanistan is given by the mainstream media.This video of Marines in combat is a case in point. Never shown on TV.TURN UP YOUR SOUNDWATCH VIDEO HERE:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHtEDhahFKw

Video shows the 101st Airborne on an air assault on the Taliban in Afghanistan, but the mainstream media felt there wasn't enough news value in this video to show it on TV.TURN UP YOUR SOUNDWATCH VIDEO HERE:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVe5X_ShLEA

The mainstream media in the United States is a total disgrace when it comes to covering the war in Afghanistan.This video shows what happened to two teenage Afghan sisters who had acid thrown in their faces, but the mainstream media would rather report on that Tea Party dip Christine O'Donnell.TURN UP YOUR SOUNDWATCH VIDEO HERE:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2MkoTZZ0Ns

Video shows our forces in a brutal firefight in Afghanistan, but the mainstream media in the United States doesn't want you to see this.TURN UP YOUR SOUNDWATCH VIDEO HERE:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gogAGLLl1U

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

This video was made by a GI who was in the thick of this battle.Unfortunately the mainstream media in the United States doesn't believe in showing our fighting men and women in Afghanistan.TURN UP YOUR SOUNDWATCH VIDEO HERE:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrJBKyDIVHw

This is the type of video that is NEVER shown on television here in the United States.Video shows troops in close combat with the Taliban.TURN UP YOUR SOUNDWATCH VIDEO HERE:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUhAtDEHqpE